Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Movie Review - "The King's Speech"

The last weekend I rented "The King's Speech" from RedBox with a free coupon (of course) since Netflix would be a long wait. I had seen all the Academy Awards for the movie which usually makes me leery. However, knowing it was a historical type of movie and it had Colin Firth, I was willing to give it a shot.

First off let me warn you that it is rated 'R' mainly for the language. I don't like the bad language but this was an exception because it was part of the story. There was actually purpose behind it. Outside of that, this was a movie that you could watch with your teenagers with warnings.

A movie I would rate as excellent is a movie that encourages me to know more of history or culture, or a movie I can't get out of my head, or a movie I just want more. After watching "The King's Speech" I wanted to know more of the Royal and British history and culture. I watched this 5 days ago and I am still thinking about it. So I would say this was an excellent movie. The casting was impeccable and spot on. Colin Firth as 'Bertie' or 'King George VI', did a superb job. I totally enjoyed Geoffrey Rush as 'Logue'. Helena Bonham Carter and Guy Pearce also supported the lead actors in a subtle amazing way.

It is interesting to me how something like a speech impediment could impact history. Then how a superior royal would come to a commoner with no 'credentials' and overcome a weakness. Further it is interesting to me how the powers behind the monarchy almost advise in a dictatorial way. Some of that I understand and then at one point I was cheering when 'Bertie' insisted and demanded keeping 'Logue' at his disposal.

So if you are looking for a movie that isn't just fluff and garbage, rent "The King's Speech" tonight!

Monday, April 25, 2011

More planting - almost done!

Since we had a longer weekend with the Easter holiday, I got to spend a little more time at the garden. I have about everything in except for one more cucumber pickle planting and a little more mulching.

I found a yellow pear tomato plant that looked like it might be good to compare to my jubilee yellow tomato seeds. I planted quite a bit from seeds this year to save a little cash so I am anxious to see how they do compared to plant starts. I papered and mulched around the plants and then when I see sprouts from my seed plantings I will paper and mulch around them. I am using pine straw over newspaper for mulch. I am hopeful that this will hold the weeds back and keep moisture in.

Here is the (almost) final planting list:
2 - Yellow Crook Neck Squash - plant starts
2 - Yellow Patty Pan/Scallop Squash - seeds from last year
2 - Bambino Courgette (Zucchini) Squash - seeds from last year
1 - Picks-a-lot Cucumber - seeds from last year
1 - Pickling Cucumber - seeds *still need to plant
2 - Cherry Tomato - plant starts
1 - Yellow Pear Tomato - plant start
2 - Green Bell Pepper - plant start
1 - Red Bell Pepper - plant start

2 - Jelly Bean Tomato - seeds from last year
2 - Red Brandywine Tomato - seeds
2 - Jubilee Yellow Tomato - seeds from last year
2 - Roma Tomato - plant starts
2 - Pink Brandywine - plant starts


Pictures from 4/19/2011 prior to paper and mulching:

Monday, April 18, 2011

Book Review - Liz Curtis Higgs - Mine is the Night

I have never read any of Liz Curtis Higgs' books but I was craving a good fiction novel. I picked up "Mine Is The Night" and it looked good. I immediately knew the story line and what would happen, but thought it be a good read. Since I love the story of Ruth and Naomi I was excited to dive in. I have never read any novels based in Scotland so this was an educational experience in Scotland culture as well as a time period educational experience approaching the American Revolution. In hindsight there is a book that comes before this one, "Here Burns My Candle", but in my opinion this part of the whole story is the best!

I won't dive into the storyline or plot but if you are interested in a good Scottish read along the Bible book of Ruth storyline, this book won't disappoint. I am interested in finding other Liz Curtis Higgs books of similar Bible storylines. Of course, I am not sure any book can top Francine Rivers' "Redeeming Love". Another author I need to dive into aside from that title.

So many books, so little time with such a small library! *Sigh*

Simple Chicken Enchiladas

My mom used to make a delicious pan of chicken enchiladas but it was very time-consuming and involved. This recipe is so simple and fast to make and it tastes identical to Mom's recipe. You can easily find this recipe on the package of Philadelphia Santa Fe blend Cooking Creme from Kraft. The recipe can also be found here.

Olive Tapenade, Feta Cheese and French Bread

I stumbled upon this at our local Costco and it is delicious! They were handing out sample of this combination and I was totally hooked! It was olive tapenade with feta cheese mixed in and piled on pieces of french bread. Oh my! So I bought the olive tapenade and feta cheese. Then I went home and whipped up several fresh french baguettes. Divine! I used the french recipe from my bread machine for the dough then baked them. I can't believe how well those came out.

Anyway, if you like olives, you might enjoy this...

It's That Time of Year - Spring Gardening!

Well I am a few weeks behind getting into the garden. The weather has been pretty cool and I haven't had the motivation to get busy. But nature calls and so does the community garden. A couple of weeks ago I started cleaning out my plots and cleaning up walkways. I decided to go from three plots to two plots. I learned a lot last year and two will be plenty. Plus I still have plenty of pickles!

A week ago I finished cleaning up my plots, tilling, and helping other community garden members clean up their plots. My legs were feeling it too!

This evening I made a dash to the garden to start planting although we have a very cool several evenings. I put in two yellow crook-neck squash, two mounds of yellow patty pan squash, two mounds of zucchini, two cherry tomatoes, one mound of cucumbers (need to get more seeds!), two green bell pepper, one red bell pepper, two roma tomatoes, and two pink brandywine tomatoes. I still need to put in one more cucumber plant and a couple of jubilee (yellow) tomatoes. I love those plain and they are delicioso on a fresh sandwich. Mmmm, drooling as I type!

Not sure what else I will get in there and I still have plenty room....